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South African Cruises to Nowhere


Cape_Town_Cruising
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Hello cruisers,

 

 

I am doing research on 'cruises to nowhere' and would like to get impressions from those who have done cruises to nowhere from South Africa. What is the draw to these cruises? What are the pros/cons? What is it like to be on a ship to nowhere? Your comments and feedback are appreciated!

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I doubt you will get any/many answers here. Why? The majority of the passengers on those cruises will be from South Africa, and there are very few members on this board from South Africa. This forum is based in North America, and the majority of members are from there. there are also a goodly number from Europe, mostly Northern Europe, and from Australia/New Zealand. You will get some answers from those of us in the US, where cruses to nowhere used to be popular. they were booze cruises. Cheap, the ship went out beyond the coast into international waters, opened up the duty free shops and you could buy all you wanted without paying duty back into the US. But our gov't stopped that, felt it was violating our cabotage laws. Since we don't know anything about the laws in South Africa, any replies might be just speculation. EM

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I was on an MSC 4 night Durban-Durban cruise (though not a 'cruise to nowhere') and heard many stories about them. Basically, they're a 'booze' cruise. You cannot purchase an all-inclusive drinks package on South African based MSC cruises. Apparently the ship ran out of alcohol when they did offer them. One of the entertainers that we befriended (we'd been on the ship for the 24 night repo to SA beforehand) is a regular on the SA based ships. She described the 'party atmosphere' onboard and said that it's almost impossible to move for the bottles and glasses littered about the ship at night.

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I have to say that I didn't witness any 'excessive' drinkers onboard our SA cruise. The crowd onboard were the friendliest I have ever encountered on a ship - the South Africans I met were very warm, friendly, courteous and out to have a great time. It was an absolute pleasure to sail with them.

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Beamafar is spot on with his reply. Cruises to nowhere are designed for those who wish to have a big, fat party. They have no destination where you can disembark and explore etc. You don't even need a passport. The crew lay on all sorts of entertainment and fun throughout the day and well into the night. If you want to relax and take things slow you might be annoyed by the party animals busting loose on these cruises. By South African standards, they are relatively inexpensive. The durations are short. No real time to be leisurely. If you want a peaceful cruise, rather save and book for longer trips, like the 7 day Christmas and 11 day New Years eve cruise, or try back to back legs. Depending on which side of the fence you are on Cape_Town_Cruising, the above can be pros or cons :)

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Beamafar is spot on with his reply. Cruises to nowhere are designed for those who wish to have a big, fat party. They have no destination where you can disembark and explore etc. You don't even need a passport. The crew lay on all sorts of entertainment and fun throughout the day and well into the night. If you want to relax and take things slow you might be annoyed by the party animals busting loose on these cruises. By South African standards, they are relatively inexpensive. The durations are short. No real time to be leisurely. If you want a peaceful cruise, rather save and book for longer trips, like the 7 day Christmas and 11 day New Years eve cruise, or try back to back legs. Depending on which side of the fence you are on Cape_Town_Cruising, the above can be pros or cons :)

Thanks for your detailed reply, @Streblo

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